


behind the mask

by grandmas_ghost (nap_princess)



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Gen, Graphic, Juvia my Queen, Minor Character Death, Modern AU, Violence, hero and villian team up, superhero au, unknown super identities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 09:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14871461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nap_princess/pseuds/grandmas_ghost
Summary: "Why did you decide to work in a flower shop, Juvia?" Gray asks."Because flowers are the only things that don't shy away from the rain, they need it to grow." Juvia says with a smile that's a little bit gloomy and mysterious. It reminds him of a look by a certain arch nemesis of his, a certain super villain– Gruvia if you squint, superhero AU, graphic-y





	1. part one: the hero

**behind the mask **

* * *

**the hero: Ice Lance**

* * *

 

* * *

Gray Fullbuster has always wanted to know who the people behind the masks are – the ones who cover their faces to hide their true selves and claim they're either a hero or a villain.

Not the ones that are fictional and printed in comic books. Not the ones he's played pretend as a kid and lets action figures save his imagination by letting plastic fists hit plastic chins.

No, he's not talking about those kinds of heroes and villains. He's talking about real people with real powers who can either take a life or save it. _Real_ heroes and villains who do extraordinary things.

To put it clearly, he's curious to find out who his allies are as he watches over Magnolia on the rooftops and who his enemies are as he battles with them under rubble and falling buildings.

Gray's heard of the phrase before: _Curiosity killed the cat._

But how can he not wonder after being involved with this world? Being involved with these people? This life for as long as he can remember.

His name is Gray Fullbuster, but he's also known as the hero, Ice Lance.

* * *

Twelve profiles appear on the screen, each almost similar to another but what catches Ice Lance's eyes is the fact that Juvia Lockser's face is among them.

Ice Lance found himself calling out to the leader of the hero organization. "Master, you might want to cut the list down to eleven."

"Oh?" Master turns away from the screen and raises a white brow. "Why is that, my boy?"

"I know one of the girls. She's too kind to be a villain."

"Is that so?" The old man gives Ice Lance a knowing look. "Do you have a solid alibi for her?"

"Uhh ..." Ice Lance trails off. Well, he didn't know her that well. "... No,"

"Things are not what they seem. Danger lurks in the most mysterious places." Makarov says in a voice that determines the final decision. "Whoever you're talking about, whatever she is doing, she could be using it as a cover-up. If you can't confirm it now then there are slim chances you'll be able to determine it in the future. Villains are just as secretive as heroes, don't you agree?"

Ice Lance sighs as all eyes are now on him – the flame demon who was too loud for Ice Lance's liking, the short bluenette that had a way with words, the newly recruited blonde who had twelve powers linked to the stars, followed by dozens other heroes in the room.

"… Yes," Ice Lance finally says. All he can do is back out.

Master smiles, "Then we can't cross her out."

* * *

Juvia Lockser works at a flower shop under Gray's aunt, Ur.

She works as a cashier, handling money and serving customers with a smile, while he works as a delivery boy on the weekends and during the summer, sending flowers to clients who forget anniversaries like car keys.

Gray likes the image his job gives him: bad boy with a soft side – cruising down the road on a motorcycle while his leather jacket shields him from the wind, before arriving on site with flowers in hand. He likes staying just to see the outcome; customers who babble at their forgetfulness or the faces of their partners lighting up at the bouquet.

"Hello, Gray-sama." Juvia greets Gray with her usual grin.

Gray settles his helmet on the counter. He replies, "Hey,"

"Did Gray-sama's delivery go well?" Juvia asks despite the fact that she doesn't have to.

"Yeah, I think the lady the roses were sent to cried tears of joy."

Juvia beams brighter and coos, "That's so sweet! Juvia thinks that's so romantic!"

He notices she's counting up the balance for the day. There's never been a shortage, not once.

This is one of the reasons why he doesn't believe Juvia Lockser is a villain. She doesn't show any bad traits at all; she works an honest job, she doesn't complain for a raise like most employees, she isn't greedy for money, she's not a thief.

The other reason is because Juvia's kind. There are traces of humanity in her. Gray's seen it his own two eyes. Juvia volunteers from soup kitchens in her spare time and she helps old ladies cross the road and gives spare change to the mother living in the streets with her son. He thinks she's done more justice than he has as a hero.

And the reason that is most distinct is, Juvia talks in a speech that was a little unique. She talks in a third point of view while the villain in question talks in a first point of view like a majority of the population.

His arch nemesis's name is Hydro Hazard.

* * *

Hydro Hazard was the only villain that Gray's ever felt match up with him in terms of strength, agility, ability, power and mind. Before she came along, Ice Lance was a hero that found things pretty easy. Sure, there were some bumps along the way but defeating bad guys and putting them in jail was a breeze. His superhero status wasn't strong enough to be ranked as an S-class hero but his reputation as Ice Lance was good enough be ranked A-class at least.

Then Hydro Hazard stepped into the picture, emerging from nowhere with zero origins. She had nothing but her name and a goal.

She's exactly as she sounds, dangerous and badass, a hazard with her water powers. With a skull of a narwhale as her mask, concealing her entire face, and a blue dress that is elegant and majestic and questionably easy to move in, let alone fight.

For the longest time, nobody could catch her – literally. Her water powers made it easy for her to slip through anyone's fingers. She could easily access a bank through closed glass door and short-circuit security locks.

She was uncatchable and undefeatable until Ice Lance stepped in.

He remembers the fight. He remembers being wounded and depleted of his ice powers and her being angry and slicing everything in her path.

Despite everything, Ice Lance was at an advantage.

True, he was drained but he still had back-up. He made sure of it. There's a chain around his neck with a sword attached to it. It's a last resort if anything ever happens. In case his powers run out and he still has to stare danger in the face. All he has to do it yank it off the chain and then, click, boom, it's a weapon; a weldable sword.

Ice Lance grins to himself. He knows she's almost out of juice too.

"You'll regret ever picking a fight with me." Hydro Hazard says.

Maybe it's the echo of the narwhale skull on her face or her water powers. But whenever she speaks, Hydro Hazard sounds like she's drowning or speaking underwater. Her voice doesn't sound normal, it's a good cover.

Ice Lance laughs aloud, "I never regret a good fight."

They spar until she escapes into the sewage without her stolen goods and he smiles at the sight until he passes out.

* * *

"Hmm," Flame Brain hums as he scratches his head, pink hair contrasting with his deep red leather super suit.

They're sitting at the mess hall located at the hero organization.

He asks the three people around the table. "Hey, do you remember the name of the guy that had an X on his costume?"

"There's like seventeen in the whole organization. You'll have to be more specific." Script says in a matter-of-fact voice.

"One of the guys who left with Master's grandson. Something with the number five in it?" The pinkette tries to give hints. "Ummm … Mumbo Number Five?"

Zodiac gives Flame Brain an odd look while Script just face-palms herself. Ice Lance stays quiet and sips on his drink.

"That's a title of a song," Script says. "I think you're referring to Soul Five. His superpower is collecting souls."

"Wait – What? He collects souls?" Flame Brain gasps aloud. "Then why is he a hero?"

"He _was_ a hero. He's not a hero anymore." Script corrects. "I think that's why he left us and turned to the dark side with Fulmination and the other two."

"Good point," Flame Brain says before the topic is switched.

"Why is your name Flame Brain anyways?" Zodiac asks. "You look more like a demon or dragon if anything else."

"Uhh ... I made it up when I was twelve." Flame Brain admits. "I thought it was suitable because I could control fire with my …" He gestures to his head, the horns are eye-catching. "… brain."

"More like your ass," Ice Lance jokes and laughs.

Flame Brain scowls at this. "Not everyone thought of themselves as Sir Ice Prince Lancelot, okay?"

Ice Lance stops laughing and squints his eyes at the fire user. He never did like that rumour, that he was vain enough to see himself as Lancelot. That he choose the name because he wanted girls falling at his feet.

"Maybe we can come up with a new hero name for you." Zodiac suggests. "Spice it up a little."

"Can I even do that?" Flame Brain asks.

Zodiac taps her chin, eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

Script moves closer, interested in the conversation. She was always good with words. She tells the two, "I didn't see any obligations when I read the rules. I'm sure changing your hero name isn't a problem."

"What if no one knows who I am? What if they don't recognize me?" Flame Brain questions. "I've had this name for years, I don't want to build myself from the ground up again."

"You don't have to start from zero." Zodiac says.

Script nods her head and spews out the knowledge she knows, "Remember Batman's Robin? When he aged up, he changed his hero name to Nightwing. He stuck close to his origins and people still managed to recognize him."

"You're right!" Flame Brain says, flashing a toothy grin. "Thanks, Script! Thanks, Horoscope!"

The blonde frowns at him, "My name is _Zodiac_."

"Whoops, sorry about that!" He gives her a cheery grin and rubs the back of his head.

"You're the one who recruited me! How could you forget?!" Zodiac scolds Flame Brain. Her irked shouting attracts several people to turn their heads and laugh at their silly antics.

Script tries to resolve things with a laugh and a list of new names. The blunette suggests, "What about the name 'Salamander'?"

"Hmm … maybe."

They continue throwing suggestions around, one of them being an anagram for Flame Brain's name.

"I don't like anagrams." Flame Brain confesses with a crinkled nose.

"Why not?" Zodiac asks as she writes down a suggestion with Script's light pen – it says 'END'.

"I think I read a post online once about Voldermort's anagrams. His real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, right?"

Script bobs her head, confirming the information.

"I think one of them was 'Mr Tom, A Dildo Lover'?" Flame Brain says.

Script feels a pulse throb on her head while Zodiac shouts at him, "Did you just insult the _Harry Potter_ series?!"

Flame Brain immediately knows he's fucked up. Flame Brain begs, "Help me, Ice Princess!"

"Not a chance," Ice Lance says.

The girls use their 2:1 ratio as an advantage and mess with Flame Brain a bit for insulting one of their favourite books.

Ice Lance couldn't help but smile at their interactions, he wished he knew real their names. He wished he knew who was behind those masks. Being a hero was lonely at times.

* * *

No hero's identity can be revealed for the safety of the hero and for his or her loved ones. Having powers come with a price – fear. The fear of a hero going rogue and turning into a villain. The fear of attacking a fellow hero, or worse, attacking defenseless civilians connected to the said hero.

It was first thought of a ridiculous law until _it_ happened and Master strengthened the rule.

Master's own grandson, Fulmination (a pretentious way of calling oneself lighting), went mad and took away three members with him: Ruins, Medusa and Soul Five. He craved too much and was willing to sacrifice everything he's worked for all these years. He took the easy way out and damaged his reputation for power and green paper that turns the world round.

Ice Lance thinks villains have it easy. They don't have any policies. But he knows for a fact that they don't share identities. Not for safety reasons or because they're terrified of being found out. No, it's because no bad guy gives a flying fuck about each other. It's always just about money and solo work.

The only leverage of being a hero is that they have allies. Villains partnering up were a rare sight and often didn't last long. Betrayal was a too common trait. You can't trust someone you don't know.

… Or at least, that's what Ice Lance thinks.

* * *

Ice Lance thinks Master made the wrong move, partnering him up with Flame Brain to find and scout for more members to join the hero team.

Normally, Ice Lance would be sure his and Flame Brain's clashing personalities would scare any newbie off. But, today their assignment is to recruit Iron Fist.

Iron Fist is covered head to toe in metal, missiles strapped into his armour. In Ice Lance's eyes, Iron Fist is dressed ridiculously. He looks like a bulked up Ironman or is at least wearing a badly put together suit that Batman wore that one time to fight Superman.

But how he dresses is not important. What's important, is that Iron Fist is an anti-hero. Not exactly fighting for the side of good, but also not exactly fighting for the side of evil. Somewhere in the middle. Iron Fist was the type of person who would definitely steal jewels but also stop what he's doing to help a cat out of a tree.

Ice Lance thinks he's seen the anti-hero stop his robbery once to pet a kitten.

All three are standing on separate rooftops like dramatic actors; Ice Lance and Flame Brain are standing on a soothingly painted blue building while Iron Fist stands on a neutral white one.

"What do you losers want?" Iron Fist asks. "I'm mindin' my own business, I haven't done anythin' yet!"

Ice Lance gets straight to the point. "The hero organization wants you to join us!"

"Join you?" Iron Fist echoes, slightly taken aback.

"You'll like it!" Flame Brain chimes in, trying to stick to the positives.

Then another party joins in, landing on a bright red building, it's Hydro Hazard.

Iron Fist turns to her, a smirk on his face but hidden from view due to his get-up. "Oh, lookie here, a villain! Here to pick a fight?!"

She shakes her head in return.

"Join me, please!" Hydro Hazard shouts, her speech a little too polite to be suited for a villain.

"You too?!" Iron Fist questions. He doesn't know whether to laugh or flip them the middle finger.

"Hell no, man! Join us!" Flame Brain tells at Iron Fist.

The anti-hero frowns and asks the heroes and villain, "What do you have to offer?"

Hydro Hazard speaks without missing a beat, "Endless riches, beautiful jewellery, luxurious cars!"

Flame Brain stares a look with his fellow companion, Ice Lance. Well, they didn't have that much of a sweet opportunity and he didn't want to stretch the truth.

Ice Lance gives him a look to say something.

Then Flame Brain says after a second of pausing, "We have people to depend on, a safe place to be who you are, a home!"

Ice Lance adds in, "We're a family, we trust each other!"

"You guys have a policy to not show anyone your identities!" Hydro Hazard argues.

"Well, technically so do you!" Flame Brain says hotly. "I bet you don't know any villain in real life!"

"I didn't offer that to Iron Fist!" She debates. "I offered luxuries which you haven't said anything about!"

"Yeah!" Iron Fist chimes in.

Flame Brain's face morphs with worry. _Shit_ , they were losing the argument! He says, "We uh – Our salary depends on ranking. We're ... paid by the government."

"The government sucks!" Iron Fist tells, already disagreeing with the affiliation.

"Actually –" Hydro Hazard speaks up, surprising Flame Brain that she might be siding with the government _of all people_ but then Ice Lance speaks over her words.

"The main point is: if you join us, we'll be a team!"

"A team?" Iron Fist repeats, humour lace in his voice. "I've seen you guys on the news! You guys squabble with each other all the time! There's no team! What team?!"

"WILDCATS!" Some random citizen yells from the ground below.

Ice Lance openly buries his face in his hands while Flame Brain says, "Oh my god, not now! This is _not_ helping!"

Seeing Ice Lance and Flame Brain distracted Hydro Hazard plays dirty. She quickly traps both of them in bubbles of water.

"Hey!" Flame Brain exclaims the same time Ice Lance yells, "You cheat!"

Ice Lance wants to know so bad who she is under that mask so that he can kick her ass. He screams in his head as he glares daggers at her, _Where do you live?! I want to tear everything you own to shreds!_

Hydro Hazard smirks at them before spinning them around and flinging them as far away as position into the night sky.

The world spins for the two heroes. As they dizzily fly away, they see Iron Fist and Hydro Hazard shake hands. Tonight, the heroes have lost.

* * *

"Why did you decide to work in a flower shop, Juvia?" Gray asks one day at work. It's a small question fit for a small conversation.

Juvia's counting the tips in the tips jar, _again_. She stops and answers his question.

"Because it seems like flowers are the only things that don't shy away from the rain. Just like sunlight, flowers _need_ the rain to grow." She says and gives him a smile that's a little bit gloomy and mysterious. It reminds him of a look by a certain arch nemesis of his, a certain supervillain.

Gray shakes it out of his head before it gets to him.

* * *

The first time Juvia rides with Gray on his motorbike, it's raining and she's finished her shift.

Gray's the first to speak up, "Do you have a ride home?"

Juvia tucks her hands into the pockets of her dress. She admires the raindrops before speaking, "Juvia usually walks home."

"Can you walk in this weather?"

She doesn't even pause. "Yes,"

"Look," He says. "I notice that you count the tips a lot, if you don't have enough money for a taxi, I can pay for you."

Juvia's eyes flit to Gray. She has to admit, he looks handsome with a leather jacket on and his helmet tucked under his arm. A cool guy with a sense of security.

"Juvia appreciates the gesture but she couldn't possibly burden Gray-sama with such a task." Juvia rejects politely.

"Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle before?" Gray asks Juvia.

A straight-line forms on her mouth, she looks uncomfortable, "No,"

"I can give you a ride." He offers.

Juvia nervously looks at the vehicle then him then back to the vehicle. "Gray-sama doesn't have to. Juvia lives nearby. She can just walk."

"You'll be drenched by the time you arrive."

"Juvia doesn't mind."

Gray then says, "But I do. You're a good person. I can't let you catch a cold."

Juvia looks at her shoes, a blush present on her face. His words were kind. "Gray-sama doesn't have too."

"I don't mind." Gray says.

"Juvia guesses she can't turn down the offer then." Juvia replies, looking up at him with a familiar smile.

Gray grins back, throws his leather jacket over her shoulders then hands Juvia a spare helmet. She thanks him then puts the helmet on, clicking the safety buckle.

"Hop on." Gray says. "And hold on tight."

"Okay,"

Her arms wrap so tightly around Gray's waist that he thinks he's going to pop as Juvia presses herself against Gray's back. She's holding onto him like a drowning victim holding onto a floating device, she doesn't want to go under.

Gray then thinks, _Okay, not_ that _tight!_

But he starts the journey anyways after confirming her address. He's riding along the lanes at a good pace when he feels Juvia tighten her grip.

"Hey, are you okay?" Gray asks and reaches to touch her hands that's squeezed together around his abdomen. He notices that Juvia's hands feel cold.

"What are you doing?!" Juvia asks, panicked, her third person speech dropped. "Put your hands back on the handlebar thing!"

Gray does then says, "Sorry, I just wanted to comfort you –"

"Just drive." Juvia tells him, wishing Gray would just concentrate on one thing before they crash and possibly die. "Stop talking, please."

Their helmets click every so often because she's so close. Gray swears he doesn't have room to move his legs at all since her thighs are bracing itself on the extra footstep.

_I think I'm going to suffocate!_ Gray thinks as he navigates through the busy road and the pouring rain.

...

Juvia apologizes profusely when they reach her apartment. He says it's no big deal and she says she'll make it up to him next time. Gray only realizes Juvia forgot to hand him back his leather jacket when he gets back on his motorbike. But, it's okay because the clouds have parted, revealing a blue sky and shining sun.

* * *

The second time she rides with him, she's undercover as Hydro Hazard and he's dressed as Ice Lance.

The one time Ice Lance gets close enough to rematch Hydro Hazard in a fight, they have to work together because there's a bigger risk to humanity's existence. Acnologia is their newest, baddest and biggest foe, he claims to be a demon of dark magic.

Just for today, both good and evil work together to defeat the insane. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows, Acnologia has an army and, both heroes and villains are drained by all the fighting.

The upside is, they're not outnumbered or outmanned thanks to the alliance.

Ice Lance races to a fallen motorbike and pulls it upright. The key's still in and the tank was filled, _sweet_!

He starts the engine and puts on his helmet in a swift motion. Ice Lance's about to zoom off when he noticed that Hydro Hazard hasn't moved an inch. Instead, she's standing there like a petrified statue.

"Hydro, what are you waiting for? Get on!" He tells her.

"I ... I'm not comfortable with motorcycles." She says.

"You've got to be kidding me! Right _now_? You chose to be chicken, right now?" Ice Lance asks, not believing the situation he's put in.

"Ju – " Hydro Hazard starts then catches herself. Her anxiety of riding the damn thing almost causes her to expose herself. "I'm not a chicken."

"Then get on! We have a psycho to catch!"

"I know that!" She snaps, losing her temper briefly then telling him, "It's just ... This is only my second time riding on a motorcycle."

"Was the first experience bad?" Ice Lance asks. He can't believe they're wasting time having idle conversation when the world was currently at stake.

"Not really." Hydro hazard admits. "It was actually nice."

"Then pretend I was the first driver guy and trust me." He tells her with sincerity and honesty. "I'm a hero, it's my job to make sure people are safe. I won't let you get hurt."

Hydro Hazard laces her hands with uncertainty. She wishes she didn't get separated from Iron Fist.

She's quiet for a whole half-minute before she tells him, "Okay."

"Don't forget your helmet." Ice Lance tells her just as she swings her legs and sits behind him.

Then it starts drizzling and he knows it's linked to Hydro Hazard's powers. Ice Lance knows for a fact that she's scared out of her mind right now.

Ice Lance says as he feels Hydro Hazard slip her arms around his waist. "But grab onto my shoulders."

"Your – Your shoulders?" She stammered like she's put in some kind of life or death situation.

He almost wants to ask if she has a tragic backstory involving motorbikes. Maybe her parents died in a car accident? Maybe her best friend got thrown off a bike and died? Maybe a lover had betrayed her and speeded off with another behind his seat?

After all, don't all villains have tragic backstories?

"Why?" Hydro Hazard questions.

"I don't want to be restricted just because your arms are wrapped around me." He explains and she does as she's told. "And I need to make sure we're both able to use our powers."

"Our powers? You want me to use my powers?" Hydro Hazard repeats. The grip on his shoulders are almost painful. "I'm not letting go of you for a second!"

* * *

Things are not going as planned. Acnologia is winning despite the odds. Everyone's wounded. Flame Brain, Zodiac, Script and all the others are fighting off Acnologia's army while Ice Lance, Iron Fist and Hydro Hazard are facing Acnologia.

But it's as bad as everything else. The demon is holding Hydro Hazard captive.

She's bleeding and her mask is falling apart, half the narwhale skull is clinging onto Hydro Hazard. Ice Lance can see a face covered in blood and blue eyes.

"Let go of her!" Ice Lance shouts, his ice has gone dry and his sword is lost in the rubble.

"You bastard!" Iron Fist yells, slamming a hand on the ground.

Acnologia lets out a laugh, throwing his head back, he's got his grip on Hydro Hazard by her hair.

"I admit, you three put on a good fight. I'm _exhausted_!" Acnologia says. "But I'm taking over the world today and no one's stopping me. Especially this one right here." He pulls Hydro Hazard's blue hair harder, forcing her to look at him.

She glares in return. She doesn't fall into the damsel in distress category despite being wounded and powerless.

"You're shit!" Hydro Hazard curses.

Acnologia chuckles, "Ha! You're just full of surprises!"

"Then I hope you like this one!"

With the remaining strength she has; Hydro Hazard reaches for her mask, breaks off the spear of the skull and stabs him.

She stabs Acnologia through his arm, putting force into hurting him.

Ice Lance stares at the gruesome sight, it looks like he wasn't the only one with a back-up weapon.

Everything happens fast after that. Hydro Hazard makes her escape and scampers as far away as possible with blood running down her chin, Acnologia's yelling in pain and Iron Fist takes it upon himself to act now that the dark demon is distracted.

Iron Fist fires a missile right through Acnologia's chest, leaving a gaping wound for all to see – remaining organs, a fractured rib cage, black blood oozing everywhere.

He's dead.

Acnologia's dead. And just like that, the fight is over. The heroes and villain trump over the demon.

...

The news covers everything the next day, adding flares and over-exaggerating bits for effect. The newswoman tells everyone watching how brave their heroes were and how they could never repay the kindness. All that sha-bam and flare. But what makes the headlines is the fact that two villains saved the world. The article questions if this was a turning point to Hydro Hazard and Iron Fist's career.

A hero turning bad was one thing.

But a villain turning good?

Was it even possible?

.

.

.

Apparently not for the villainise duo's case.

Iron Fist says through a short interview, "Heroes are soft. They could never kill, that's why villains come back and cause havoc."

Hydro Hazard adds her own thoughts, speaking through her unusual voice, "You need us to be bad. It takes a monster to kill a monster."

* * *

It's been several months since Acnologia's defeat. Most of the buildings are no longer a wreck and is being reconstructed. Ur's flower shop is one of them but Juvia has left her job.

Gray's gunning down the road with a delivery when something catches his eye. Well, more of a _someone_ rather than a _something_. Gray slows his motorbike. He sees Juvia Lockser walking away from a blue haired man shouting at her.

"Juvia, babe! Come back to me!" He yells.

Juvia whirls around, angrier than Gray's ever seen her. "We broke up a year ago, Bora!"

She doesn't use honorifics in this Bora person's name, this unsettles Gray.

"Please, babe!" Bora cries.

Juvia doesn't even answer him. She simply carries on walking, attracting attention and not noticing Gray.

Then Bora runs after Juvia and grabs her arm. He says furiously, "You bitch!"

Gray's instinct is to immediately interfere, to go up to Bora and smack him, to hurl his helmet at the man so that he lets go of Juvia.

But none of that is needed, Bora made a mistake.

A switch is flipped. Juvia mirrors Hydro Hazard's actions on D day. She doesn't even push Bora away, she dives deep and becomes violent. Juvia bites Bora's arm –hard. There's blood down Bora's arm and her chin, a crazy look in her eyes, he's screaming.

As the argument unfolds in front of Gray, he can no longer convince himself otherwise. All signs point to Juvia. She's been hiding under his nose all this time.

There's blood trickling down her chin.

Blood trickling –

Gray doesn't like it. It doesn't suit her – not one bit. Blood down her smiling face.

By-standers rush in. They push the two apart. Bora's still crying like a little bitch while Juvia's casually wiping the evidence off her face.

Juvia says calmly, "Don't touch me."

Gray stares at Juvia from afar, wide-eyed. It seems like the chasm between Hydro Hazard and Juvia Lockser was smaller than he thought.

He doesn't know what to do with the space between them. Maybe if he reached out just a little bit more, he can grasp something.

But a part of him is also scared that he'll slip, fall and plunge to the deep end. Was it really worth asking? Was it worth revealing the secret?

For the first time in his life, Gray Fullbuster doesn't want to know who's behind the mask.

He doesn't jump in and plays his role as the hero. No, instead he turns around and rides off on his motorbike and returns to his delivery task. Juvia can keep his leather jacket and her identity a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear today a Stan Lee look alike told me to take out my bins. If he tells me I have superpowers the next time I see him, Imma wanna be an anti-hero
> 
> – 18 June 2017


	2. part two: the villain

** behind the mask **

* * *

  **the villain: Hydro Hazard**

* * *

"So, what's our plan, H?" Iron Fist asks Hydro Hazard.

The duo looks over Magnolia. The city is in shambles but it's not by the hands of the bad guys. No, it's by the hands of the heroes.

"We stay out of it." Hydro Hazard says without missing a beat.

Iron Fist asks, "You sure?"

"Positive," She answers.

"I'm always up for a fight," He tells her, his missiles shinny and loaded.

Hydro Hazard shakes her head. "No, we take this as an opportunity. The heroes are distracted now. We steal what we can and evacuate those who need help."

Iron Fist raises a brow behind his metal armour. "Help?"

"Just because the heroes gave gone to shit doesn't mean we have to too."

He lets out a chuckle. "You're right."

Then he pauses for a moment to think of a strategy and plan. Which place to hit first? Should he prioritize stealing money or goods? What's the closest animal shelter he can go to so that he can free the cats?

"We can split up if you want." Hydro Hazard tells him.

Iron Fist's grin stretches wider. "You always know me so well."

"Let's go."

* * *

Gray Fullbuster had to find out himself from the news playing on the TV and the screams ringing outside his apartment and the rumble of the ground that the heroes have gone wild.

The hero organization had fallen apart, spilling in two sides, they were fighting _each other_. It was like a cheap knock off of _Civil War_ with Flame Brain siding with his brother Zeref while Master tries everything in his power to keep the organization as a team. It was Fulmination all over again but _worse_.

After hearing the news; Gray jumps off his sofa, races out of his apartment and hops on his motorbike. He doesn't even think to put on his super suit. No, he just wants to see everything with his own eyes because he won't believe it until the evidence is in front of him.

There's no way that the hero organization has fallen. It just couldn't be true.

But it was.

Gray stands still before the collapsing building, watching his entire world fall apart. The organization's set ablaze and crumbling. He stands there, about to be crushed, in harms way until he's not.

Down swoops Hydro Hazard, she plucks him out of his death sentence. Then they're stumbling, rolling and rolling and rolling until they stop and she's rolled on top of him. Gray freezes.

"Hydro," Gray says, stunned.

"Well, that's half of my name." Hydro Hazard tells him, blue hair falling into his face. She rolls off him just in time to see a part of the building crush his motorcycle.

Hydro Hazard doesn't even offer a helping hand, so Gray just sits up and asks, "Why did you save me?"

She doesn't bat an eye. "What? You think just because I'm a villain then that means I don't have a heart and I can't do some good?"

"That's not what I meant," Gray says then he immediately stands up and starts looking. He walks around, slapping his hands on cars frozen on the road and fallen scooters.

"What are you doing here?" She asks. "Why did you run towards the building?"

Gray freezes, he slowly turns to her. _Shit_ , no rational person would recklessly run towards the hero organization in such a situation.

Gray looks down at his feet and clenches his hands into fists. "I … I thought I could call for help. I thought I could get a hero to save the day."

"Like who?"

Gray lifts a shoulder. It's a weak gesture. "I don't know. Zodiac? I thought maybe she could use Aquarius. Or maybe Script, she can spell out 'water' and stop the fire or write something to stop everything."

At this point, Gray even considered picking Titania who knew no boundaries or the Take-Over Siblings despite the fact that the eldest was reckless when she went into demon mode.

Hydro Hazard clicked her tongue. "You sure know a lot about the heroes in this city."

"I've looked up to them all my life."

"Well, they're busy destroying Magnolia." Hydro Hazard says without sugar-coating the situation. There's no room for fanboys and day-dreamers in this destruction.

He frowns. "I know … I guess maybe I just thought I could help someone if I got a hero by my side. Save the day and stuff …"

She doesn't answer him but instead squints at his choice of words. There's hesitation on her side. The way she looks at him … Gray swears Hydro Hazard looks a little moved. Too bad he can't read her with that skull covering her face.

"Anyways," Gray says, then turns back to the sea of vehicles. "I have to get somewhere."

Hydro Hazard asks, suddenly curious about him. "Where?"

"Home," Gray answers, his voice hints determination.

"Right now? In this situation?" She snaps with surprising fury. "Do you want a death wish?" Hydro Hazard questions. She sounds angrier than she should be. "You should be heading to a shelter with everyone else."

"I have something important at home." Gray answers, looking elsewhere. Anywhere but into her blue eyes. His super suit, he _needs_ his super suit.

Hydro Hazard stands her ground, staying put. Hydro Hazard asks again, "Is it a gun?"

Gray doesn't answer her.

She tells him, "Because if it is, it isn't going to help. All those comic books are fake. A bullet is nothing against a super."

"No, it's not a gun." Gray answers, still looking around. "It's better, trust me."

He thinks he's got her to stay silent until Hydro Hazard says, "I can't let you go alone,"

"Why?" Gray turns again to look at Hydro Hazard. "I don't mean anything to you."

Hydro Hazard places her hands on her hips, all serious. "I saved you civilians from Acnologia once. I can spare some time to save people again."

"That's a hero's job." Gray replies.

"Not all heroes save people." Hydro Hazard answers flippantly.

Immediately, Gray shuts his mouth in return because she's right. He didn't save Bora when Juvia bit a chunk of his arm off. All he did was pretend he didn't see the horror happening before his eyes and ran away.

A sickening feeling bubbles in Gray's chest. He doesn't want to continue this conversation so he ignores her. He continues scavenging for something that he can use.

"How do you plan to get home, hmm?" Hydro Hazard asks. "On foot? You'll never make it."

"No," Gray says, searching around the perimeter for something to get him home. He finishes his words, "I need a motorbike,"

"Nothing's going to work. All the vehicles are down." She tells him, patience growing thin.

"No, it _is_ going to work. I need to do this."

Hydro Hazard walks up to him, she grabs his shoulder and snaps, "Just let me save you! Whatever you have won't save lives!"

Gray yells back suddenly, "You don't know that!"

This stuns her.

"You don't know what I can and can't do, Hydro! You don't know shit so don't belittle me just because I'm not dressed in some fancy latex outfit!"

She stands there, her hand still on his shoulder. Hydro Hazard thinks he's crazy, a normal civilian fighting a villain in the middle of chaos.

"I just _need_ it, okay?" Gray replies then states, "Don't get in my way. You said you want to save me or whatever, right? Then choose; are you just going to just stand there and ask questions or are you going to help me?"

Gray could tell she was frowning at him behind that new narwhale mask.

He says in an almost small voice, "Just send me home and everything will turn out well. If you just do that, I won't be a bother to you anymore. You can just forget this whole conversation ever happened. I promise."

Hydro Hazard goes quiet for a moment. The paused stretches out until she gives in. She says in defeat, "Okay,"

She lifts her hand and then, out of nowhere, she encases Gray in a water bubble.

Gray lets out a gasp. His mind scream, _Betrayal?!_

"Hydro!" He exclaims.

"Relax, there's pocket of air for you to breathe in." She replies calmly. "You need transportation, right? I'm your ride."

And Gray doesn't know why, but his shoulders sag with relief that he isn't going to die at the hands of his arch nemesis.

"Where do you live?" She asks.

"The apartment by Oak Street," He answers and immediately wants to kick himself. He can't believe he gave a villain his address. Ah, whatever – he's just going to ask her to drop him off by the front of the building. No way is he going to invite her into his house.

"Hold on tight," Hydro Hazard tells him like that night Gray gave her a lift when it was raining and her shift was over.

"Hold on to what –" Gray begins to ask but doesn't get to finish his sentence because Hydro Hazard turns herself into liquid and bounces against roof tops and walls to reach their destination. Gray screams along on the top of his voice as he's dragged along in the bubble because, _is this even safe?_

…

She's still in water form and he's in her bubble. They're speeding through the burning city in silence until Gray speaks up.

"I never thought this would happen." Gray says as they draw closer and closer to the apartment by Oak Street.

Hydro Hazard faces him, "What are you talking about?"

"It's just, I thought we were –" Gray starts then corrects himself. "I never thought we'd do this to each other."

She doesn't say anything.

There's a blank look on Gray's face. He speaks aloud like he's talking to himself, "I thought heroes worked together. I thought they were a team."

"I think you've been reading too many comic books, fanboy. There are _no_ teams," Hydro Hazard says like she knows from knowledge. "Only sides to choose."

* * *

Gray was _right_ , most villains do have tragic backstories. Juvia wished she didn't though.

She hates the sound of the engine when it drives by her in the streets. She hates how people carelessly ride them without a helmet and perform dangerous stunts without a care in a world. She hates how her body freezes, how her heart speeds up when a motorcycle comes near her and how she can't breathe.

But, most of all, she _hates_ her irrational fear of it. She wished she didn't have a fear of motorcycles.

…

It happened forever ago. Far too long ago that Juvia doesn't have enough fingers to count the years that flew by. The happening was tragic and painful yet it sticks to Juvia like a post-it-note superglued to her brain; forever reminding her, never letting her forget.

It was trip to the grocery store gone bad. How can anyone such an event to end up so badly? Juvia was going to have a sibling, she was going to be a big sister, her family was supposed to grow. Not shrink.

It was a weekend of chores, the whole Lockser family was out – Mr Lockser who was juggling several bags in his arms, heavily pregnant Mrs Lockser who had one hand gripping onto her handbag and one hand holding seven-year-old Juvia's wrist.

They were happy and tired and ready to go home and make lunch.

It happened so fast. Mrs Lockser was holding onto something with both hands until she wasn't. A thief grabbed onto her handbag without a second thought, pulled Juvia's mother along as the motorcycle driver slammed on the accelerator and drove off.

Mrs Lockser was with Juvia then she wasn't. Her hands were warm until they weren't. She was holding onto Juvia until she had to let go of her daughter.

That's the day Juvia tasted her blood for the first time. It was all a blur, little Juvia was pulled forward with a violent force. She remembers face-planting and getting both of her front teeth knocked out. It hurt. It hurt _so_ much.

And when Juvia looks up – bleeding from her mouth and crying her eyes out – she catches a sight that changed her forever.

Juvia's mother landed face down, her stomach exploded on impact; revealing guts, blood and remains of an unborn baby as the older woman's body was dragged ten feet ahead. All while the motorcycle continues to pick up its speed, leaving trails of blood and body remains forever haunting Juvia to this day.

There was a scream that rang through the parking lot, she heard someone vomit, she heard crying.

Juvia watched as her father raced over to her mother's corpse. Mr Lockser turned his wife's body around, pleading for her to wake up. Juvia saw the sight, everything poured out. It was indescribable.

That was the end of her happy days. Juvia felt like her mother and her unborn sibling wasn't the only person who died that day. Juvia doesn't think her father ever recovered from it. He never did. Mr Lockser never stopped grieving. The only closure was that the doctors confirmed Mrs Lockser died on impact, she didn't suffer.

After that, Mr Lockser drank to forget, slept to forget, spent countless of money to forget. He did _everything_ to forget.

And each time little Juvia begged for her father to stop, he'd just look at her face and cry. It was like staring at a mirror every time Juvia looked at her father – same blue hair, same blue eyes, same pale complexion. She was everything like her father and Juvia hated it.

She never wanted to be like Mr Lockser; miserable and sad and an alcoholic.

Those thieves took away her mother and sibling, turn her household upside down and cause Juvia and her father to become estranged family members.

She began hating them; motorcycles and cruel people – no, _evil_ people.

.

.

.

And, yet here she was, a villain; Hydro Hazard.

…

That day, Juvia discovered the difference between Heroes and Villains. Villains strived for change while Heroes want to keep things constant. But Juvia wonders, how will anything change and grow if things are kept the same?

So chooses a side. She opts for the latter choice, a villain. She steals from the rich and gives it to the needy. She's her own Robin Hood that donates large sums of money anonymously, and she's not afraid to fight for it.

Juvia tried to make a difference as best as she could by being _nice_. She gives advice and lends a helping hand whenever she can and donates and so much more but it wasn't enough. It was _never_ enough because, in Juvia's eyes, nice people _always_ get taken advance and stepped on. Bora was evidence.

So Juvia separates her life – the private from the public. When her blue hair is pulled in a high pony-tail and she's in comfortable ankle boots, she is Juvia Lockser who works at a flower shop. She collects hats for fun, she secretly still owns a _Neopets_ account and wishes to own a pet that isn't stuck in a fish bowl. And when she puts on her super suit, she is Hydro Hazard, a public threat. She is a villain through-and-though. She steals and punches heroes and breaks things.

Despite Iron Fist's beliefs, Juvia thinks the government is doing its job. She thinks it's good. It funds for education for poor children, it funds hospitals for the sick, it funds the hero organization that does the one thing Juvia can't do: protect people.

…

Juvia makes sure to dress down, to always have pockets, to always just have no less than a small sum of jewels, her bus pass and keys with her. She never wants to carry a handbag. _Ever_.

If she ever needs more, she dares not withdraw money from the ATM, instead, she counts the number of tips from tip jar at work. Juvia rations and plots and considers the risks before anything else.

Because at the end of the day, Juvia Lockser would rather die robbing a bank then die being robbed.

* * *

"They're being mind-controlled!" Zodiac yells at her fellow heroes as she uses her Sagittarius form to pin down the zombie-fied user with her arrows.

Script's eyes widen. "How do you know?!"

"Trust me!" The blonde raises her voice, she focus at her aim and withdraws her arrow. "They're still our friends! We're still a team! _Trust me!_ "

Script sucks in a deep breath and yells on the top of her lungs, "Everyone, follow Zodiac's cue!"

…

"After everything's that happened." Zodiac says to Flame Brain who's lying on the ground, wounded but innocent and still a hero. Zeref is defeated. "This is the perfect time to start over."

The pinkette nods his head then stands up with his best effort. He looks at the city he was forced to destroy. He doesn't like the looks of it, so he frowns and shouts with determination, "Hey world, my name's END and I'm going to keep you safe! As a hero, this is a promise I will keep until my dying breath!"

…

"Wait – You told Zodiac your identity?" Ice Lance asks. "Are you mad?! That's against the rules!"

"I didn't tell her, per se." Not Flame Brain but now END says. "A villain was messing the place up and Zodiac was in danger. I didn't have my super suit when it happened but I knew I had to act fast so I used my powers to incinerate a car hurled in Zodiac's way."

Zodiac nods her head in the background.

"Turns out she was a super too." END laughs like it's no big deal. He then continues his story, "Then we kind of did introductions. I was like 'Hi, I'm blah blah blah' and she was like 'Oh my gosh, you're that fire super hero! Can I join the organization too? I'm a Celestial user, it runs in the family! I've actually been looking for a hero to recruit me! Oh, by the way, my name is yadda yadda yadda'!"

Zodiac giggles at END's creative naming skills, this is why she successfully picked a new name for the pink haired hero.

Then the blonde speaks, "We hang out in person and have each other's phone numbers too. It's easier alerting one another if something goes down."

"But, _still_." Ice Lance interjects.

"If Zodiac didn't know me that well, no one would have guessed I was being mind-controlled!" END says. "It has its upsides, Ice Princess!"

Script bobs her head, "I've known Flame Brain – sorry, I mean, END since we were twelve and I couldn't have picked up that he and the others were being controlled if it weren't for Zodiac's close knit friendship with him."

Ice Lance isn't convinced, he hums in a disapproving manner.

"Look," Zodiac says, "I'm just saying, maybe trusting someone with your identity isn't so bad."

Ice Lance frown. He isn't so sure about this.

Script tells him, "We're not trying to convince you, Ice Lance. I haven't even told anyone in the hero organization what my real name is yet. But, considering the circumstances, I think I'll go for it. It really does look like it has its merits."

"… I'll think about it."

* * *

Gray walks into his living room, shirtless and bruised. There are still traces of his messy bed hair and he's about to make himself brunch when he spots something at the corner or his eye. His body stills and stares at it.

There, lying on his sofa is his leather jacket, the one that he gave Juvia a few months ago. _Holy hell_ , how did it get there?

He races towards it and snatched it off the couch, shaking it like a madman. It could be booby-trapped for all he knew but the only thing on Gray's mind is finding a tracking device or a spy camera.

But instead of any items stating his exposed identity, it's a note that flutters down. Gray can only think the worst case scenario, a bad guy holding Juvia hostage. That is, until he sees the words on it;

 

**Thank you for being kind to Juvia.**

– **Juvia Lockser.**

 

And that's when a lightbulb lights up above Gray's head. He thinks Juvia is aware of _his_ knowledge of her as a villain. That was the only logical explanation! That's why she was helpful to him the other day when he was dressed down as a civilian!

 _But what gave it away?_ Gray questions himself then shakes his head.

No. No, that's not important now. She can toy with him all she wants with her not-so-secret villain life for all Gray cares.

The real question is if _she_ knows about _his_ identity as her arch nemesis; Ice Lance.

* * *

Gray bounces his leg up and down like a jackhammer, his mind is racing a mile a minute and his phone is digging into his hips.

Damn _tiny pockets_ and huge ass phone! If only he had brought his leather jacket, he could have just left his phone in one of the pockets. Gray's tempted to fish it out and scroll through social media but he doesn't want to be distracted. He was about to have coffee with a super villain!

Gray's already failed as a hero when he didn't protect Bora (a dick of a person but no less still a defenseless civilian) from the clutches of Juvia biting his arm. Gray doesn't want to be that person again.

His oath as a hero is to protect people. He's not going to let these people at the cafe get hurt. Not the tired university student drinking his fifth cup and stressing over his assignment at the corner, not the hipster taking _Instagram_ worthy pictures, not the fifty year old office man in line.

The door at the coffee shops opens once again, bringing Gray back to reality.

Gray looks up from his drink, some part of him expecting just a random stranger but another part of him expects Juvia.

His hunch is the latter. Juvia enters the café dressed in a pure white summer dress and ballerina flats. She looks like a harmless saint but Gray knows otherwise.

Juvia swishes her head left and right, trying to spot Gray among the people in the room until she does. Her face immediately lights up, she waves at him.

He doesn't know what to do. How do you respond to a cheery villain at a coffee shop? So Gray simply nods his head.

"Oh, Gray-sama, Juvia was so surprised when Gray-sama texted her out of the blue!" Juvia says with a laugh as she sits down at the small table. "But it's good seeing you again!"

Gray laces his hands in return. He didn't look though his aunt's employee list just for small talk.

"Drop the act." He tells her.

Juvia's smile disappear, she sits up straighter at the comment. "What does Gray-sama mean? Did Juvia do something wrong?"

"It's about the jacket."

Juvia blinks back in reply. "Yes, Juvia returned Gray-sama's jacket. Did she tear it by accident or something?"

He thinks she's acting clueless. She's _good_. But, not good enough.

Gray's mouth becomes razor sharp thin as he leans in. "I know."

Juvia also leans in return. They meet in the middle of the table, whispering and heads almost touching. Juvia questions him, a little worried. "Know what?"

"I know who you are." Gray says then whispers in an even lower voice. "You're Hydro, aren't you?"

Juvia's entire body jerks back. "Hydro? As is Hydro Hazard the super villain?"

But Gray doesn't answer her and continues his accusations, "You broke into my house didn't you? You used your powers and placed my leather jacket on my couch."

Her face is a mix emotion of offence and shock. "Juvia didn't break into your apartment."

"Bullshit!" Gray found himself raising his voice.

"It's true!" Juvia defends herself.

Several heads turn to them. A lover's quarrel? But one glare from Gray and they go back to minding their own business.

"Then how else would you have broken into my apartment?" Gray asks, his voice still low and fierce.

"Juvia didn't break into Gray-sama's apartment." She says in a matter-of-fact voice, standing her ground. "She got Gray-sama's address from Ur. Juvia knocked on your door but there was no answer so she left Gray-sama's jacket on his doorknob. She was about to leave but then Gray-sama's landlord saw her and told Juvia someone might steal the jacket. So he opened Gray-sama's door and Juvia put it on the sofa. She left with the landlord." Juvia explains. "Juvia didn't break into Gray-sama's house at all. She didn't take anything either. Juvia didn't do anything bad."

Gray's eyes widen. That was … very logical and plausible. Hold up …

His face drops. "Oh,"

_Oh._

Ooohhhh ...

 _Shit!_ He fucked up!

Gray quickly scrambles to fix the mess. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! Look, Juvia, I didn't mean to accuse you of being a vi –"

Juvia reaches over and grabs both his arms with her hands. Her grip reminds him of the two occasions on the motorcycle. She hisses hotly at him, "What gave it away?"

"Huh?" Gray asks back.

Juvia repeats her words, "What gave Juvia away that she is HH?"

Gray stares at Juvia in shock.

He thinks, _Holy shit! She's not denying it?!_

"So what was it?" Juvia questions, her grip tightening. "Was it Juvia's speech? Her hair?"

Gray stares wide eyed, all he can do is pray and lie. He stammers as he looks at her, trying to pick an eye-catching characteristic. "It was ... uh ... It was –"

Gray wished the hero organization had classes teaching everyone there how to lie about these sort of things. But he supposes it is his own fault for not being prepared. After all, it's reasonable and expected for all heroes to have back-up plan if they were exposed.

Bruises on your body – just some aches from practicing martial arts. Bad poisoning – just ate too much _Taco Bell_. On the verge on dying – uhhh … he watched _A Dog's Purpose_ and had to beat himself up just to feel like a man again.

Gray guesses he's been too relaxed all these years. He's been this superhero thing since he was twelve, he's nineteen now, seven years worth of keeping his secret identity a … well, _secret_ , has made him too confident that no one would find out.

"I recognized your ..." Gray stalls, looking at her intensely.

"Juvia's?" She echoes.

Gray fail at lying, "… legs."

"Juvia's … legs?"

"... Yup." Gray lies. "Because you always wears dresses to work and when you're in your costume you're … also in a dress,"

Gray cringed internally. He wished he was better at this. He wished he was more creative. If he knew this would ever happen, he would have prepared for such an event. But between spending his pass years stuck in school and rising higher in his hero rank, Gray really didn't have space to take a class on Deceiving and Deception 101 (if there was such a thing).

"I ... I stare at them ... all the time." Gray continues fibbing, then adds for good measurements, "At … work." Because where else could he have the opportunity to stare at Juvia when she doesn't have a mask on her face?

Smooth, Gray, _real_ smooth.

"But Juvia works behind the counter." Juvia states, eyebrows furrowed. "How could Gray-sama possibly have seen her legs?"

"It's possible because … that's just how much I uh – how much pay attention to them?" Gray says. "And uhh ... Because I also stare at them… on the TV. Everywhere. _Always_?"

Juvia looked at him questionably. "Is that a question?"

"N – No!"

"Then why does Gray-sama sound so uncertain?"

"Because ..." Gray stalls. "Because I'm still coming to terms with my ... my ..."

Gray wants to kick himself hard. What kind of superhero is he? He can't even come up with a believable lie!

Which was a worse word to use? Kink or fetish?

Gray finished his sentence lamely, "... kink."

God, he wanted to die at the word kink. Who has a kink over legs?!

Juvia let's go of his arms and pushes her back against the chair. Gray thinks she looks … defeated?

She says, in a confused tone, "Juvia never would have guessed Gray-sama was so weird."

And strangely, Juvia buys what he sells.

* * *

"Don't you have a home to go back to or something?" Gray asks Juvia as he flicks through channels on the TV. Juvia's been hanging out at his apartment for three days straight now.

She pays him no heed at the rude comment and flips through a comic book on his bookshelf. It's volume two of _Gotham Academy,_ she skims through the pages then places it back where it was originally wedged.

"Nope," Juvia says. "Juvia has to keep Gray-sama close. He could spill her secrets and identity to the hero organization."

Gray lets out a sigh.

Well, at least she knocks on his front door as a warning.

Gray starts, "You need to leave. I need to shower and get ready for work."

Juvia rolls her eyes. "This is Gray-sama's house, Gray-sama can shower with the door wide open for all Juvia cares."

" _Juvia_ ,"

"Juvia's staying put. What if Gray-sama uses the fire exit as a way to escape her? She refuses to be tricked."

 _Well, you already are!_ Gray thinks.

"Whatever," Gray says. "Just don't show up in my shower when I'm butt naked."

"Even if Juvia shows Gray-sama her legs?" Juvia teases, making Gray's face feel warm.

Gray throws his hands in the air. "I never should have answered that question!"

His outburst makes Juvia giggle. He can't believe he's getting hit on by his arch nemesis!

Gray squints at her and means business. "Just don't follow me!"

"Juvia bets Gray-sama really liked it when she accepted his motorcycle offer!"

"Just stay in the living room! God!"

…

When Gray steps out of the showers he hears a conversation being talked out in his living room. Alarm bells ring in his head and he quickly marches out his room after wrapping a towel around his waist.

"Juvia!" Gray says with an accusing tone. "Did you invite someone else into my home? Is it Iron Fi –" But Gray's voice dies in his throat when he sees Juvia sitting at the dining table with his father, Silver.

Ooohhh no!

"Son!" Silver beams.

Gray sees Juvia has made both his father and herself a cup of tea. He almost wants to race over to the table and slap Silver's cup onto the ground before yelling 'No, stop, that could be poisoned!' but he doesn't. Because that wasn't smart and right now the only leverage Gray had over Juvia was that he had disguised himself as a fanboy who knew too much about heroes and had a weird fetish for legs.

"… Dad, what are you doing here?"

The older man moves away from his cup of tea and the dining chair before going over to Gray and embracing him. "I was in the neighbourhood and decided to drop in. It's good to see you! You look well –" Then Silver notices the state Gray's in and adds, "– and naked."

Gray only hums in irritation in response.

"Dad, I'm sorry but I don't have time to stay and chat. I have to go to work." Gray explains.

"You won't even give your old man five minutes of your time?" Silver asks, faking a wounded heart.

"Dad, please –"

"I can just call Ur up myself and explain the situation." Silver says. "Besides, you can't just leave me and –"

Silver pauses for a second and Gray call tells the wheels in his father's head was turning. Silver was trying to decode Gray's relationship status with Juvia. A friend? More than a friend?

Maybe it's because Gray and Silver have a similar mind-set or maybe Silver's just easily readable but Gray swears he can see the questions going around in Silver's thoughts – _Juvia must be Gray's girlfriend, who else would just shower when company is over! But then again, if Juvia was his girlfriend my boy wouldn't have hesitated to have sexy time in the shower! But then again, he didn't invite Juvia so she could be a friend. But then again, here he is, standing in a towel, completely naked. No one just shows off their bodies like that! But then again …_

So Silver just finishes his sentence as casually as possible, "– me and Juvia hanging like this."

"Yes, I can." Gray replies without even waiting to think.

This is bad. Very, _very_ bad. It's bad enough Juvia knows who he is and where he lives. The fact that Juvia also knows Ur is worse and the fact that she now knows Silver is the icing on the cake! She knows who his family is! This is deep shit serious!

"Oh, come on, son! I'm sure Ur will understand. After all, I'm the older brother, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. I can persuade my baby sister."

Gray shakes his head. "That's not it, dad."

"Are you low on cash?" Silver asks suddenly. "You know you could always come to me if you don't have enough."

"I have more than enough."

"Then why can't you take the day off?" Silver continues questions.

Gray makes gestures with his hands that provide little to no answers. " _Because_ ,"

"Gray, please, I'm not the only person who came here to spend time with you." Silver argues. "Juvia's here too! Think of the effort she must have put in."

"She's been here for a few days now, it's about time she leaves." Gray says pointedly.

"A few days?" Silver's face morphs into a curios one. "Just what exactly is going on between you two?"

Gray wants to answer 'nothing' but Juvia beats him to the punch. He forgets, Juvia's still a cunning villain. She doesn't need a mask over her face to prove that.

"Actually," Juvia interrupts as she sips her tea. "Juvia and Gray-sama haven't actually discussed to an extent what we are."

Wait – What?!

Gray glares at Juvia as hard as he can.

"It's …" Juvia waves her hand in the air for effect. "… complicated."

Silver takes a moment to think before he nods his head. "Ohhh, got cha'."

"Dad, _no_!"

Silver's face reads, _No, son. I'm okay with it, I'm a cool dad!_

 _Dad, you don't get it!_ Gray argues in his head, glaring at Juvia before glaring at the front door, signalling for his dad to exit the department. _This is not what you think!_

Silver frowns. _Everyone gets confused in new relationships!_

_Dad!_

The old man's thinks, _It's okay to be friends with benefits!_

And Gray immediately wants to scream because, _No, dad, that's not it! It's worse!_

Gray did not beg his dad for a gap year and his own apartment just to start some questionable relationship. No, it's not some complex maybe girlfriend-boyfriend thing. It's a title, it's a villain holding a person hostage.

If Gray could spill the beans and tell Silver he was a hero and Juvia was a villain, he would. But Gray doesn't think there's a universal sign for that without saying it aloud.

He wants to mentally argue some more but then three loud thumps knock against the apartment door. All three turn to stare at it.

"Juvia, did you invite anyone?" Gray asks accusingly. He can only think Iron Fist as the culprit of such a forceful act.

"No," Juvia answers shortly, looking offended by Gray pointing a finger at her for the second time today.

"Maybe it's your landlord?" Silver suggests.

Gray shakes his head. "No, he'd call me before hand and he's not the type to just bang on my door like that."

"Is Gray-sama going to answer it?" Juvia asks.

"I'm _in a towel_ , Juvia."

Silver can practically sense the tension between Gray and Juvia. _Definitely_ a couple's quarrel. The door continued to shutter at the knocking.

"Then get dressed." Juvia hisses at him. "Juvia will open the door and Gray-sama can handle it when he's dressed."

" _Fine_ ,"

Silver lets out a hearty-laugh just as Gray slams his door shut. Juvia makes a comment and opens the front door.

Gray thinks those two can handle whatever's happening because he's so done with them for now. But Gray doesn't get far. He only manages to put on pants before he hears Juvia gasp, his father yell and his bed room door flying open. He manages to stare into the eyes of old comrades before he's locked in purple ruins.

* * *

Gray and Juvia sit back to back with their hands tied together with thick chains. The side effect of the kidnapping still hasn't rubbed off yet.

"Juvia," Gray whispers. He tries to get a clear view of her, Juvia's skin still looked in-between stone and flesh. " _Juvia_."

Juvia groans in reply, she sways a little and makes an unintelligent remark.

"Juvia, you need to wake up." Gray hisses. "I've been conscious for about thirty minutes now, I can't keep waiting. We need to escape."

"… Escape?"

"We got kidnapped."

At the word 'kidnapped', Juvia's head jolts up. She's on high alert until the pain gets to her. She lets a curse slip out.

"What do you remember?" Gray asks, trying to piece things together.

Juvia closes her eyes for a moment. Her head hurts like crazy. "Uhh … Gray-sama went to get dressed then Juvia went to open the door. There was a man with green hair … he locked Gray-sama in a barrier before a woman stared Juvia and Silver-San in the eyes. That's all Juvia can remember."

Just as he suspected.

Gray sighs softly. "Shit,"

"What?"

"I know them –" Gray begins to say then realizes his slip up.

"Gray-Sama knows these people?" Juvia questions, she wished her hands weren't chained up. She wants to rub her temples to sooth the headache. "But they're supers, aren't they?"

"I mean – I know their origins." Gray says, he's not exactly lying but he's not exactly telling the truth either.

"Right, Juvia forgot Gray was a super fanboy fanatic." Juvia says, linking Gray's fascination the other day when he was standing before the crumbling hero organization building and when he remembered Juvia based on her legs. She still couldn't think straight. "You mean like Gray-sama has their autographs?"

Gray let's the comment slide. Information was important but he wasn't a fanboy fanatic. Regardless, the cover is better than exposing himself.

"Those people are Fulmination's team. The one with green hair is Ruins and the woman was Medusa." Gray explains. "They're old allies of the hero organization. They're one of the reasons why they enforced the secret identity law. They left and turned against the leader: Master."

Juvia frowns, trying to push past the dizziness and think. "Are they strong?"

"Ruins and Medusa tend to work together. Ruins traps his enemy in his unbreakable barriers. Once he's sure there's no escape and the enemies are cornered, then Medusa comes in and looks them in the eye. One look and you turn to stone for a few hours."

"Do they have any limits?"

Gray shakes his head. "Not that I know off. Ruins's barriers aren't limited in terms of space, it can cover large areas."

Juvia stares at the ground, she tries using her water powers but it seems like Medusa's powers still has an effect on her. No dice.

"I suppose you can cover Medusa's eyes or use the mirror trick." Gray adds. "But both of them can also fly. It's a tactical advantage because they have an eagle's view. We can't really escape with those two breathing down our necks,"

"Shit," Juvia curses again then she stares at the ground. "Juvia doesn't understand why they would target her. She understands she's a villain but she makes sure to be careful and not to clash with others. What's their aim? Why Juvia?"

Gray doesn't answer.

He wants so badly to tell her he's probably the one they're after. His ex-teammates; Fulmination and his team probably saw an opening after the hero organization crashed and burned less than two weeks ago. They were still rebuilding everything and was weak at the moment.

"Okay, first thing's first; take a deep breath." Gray advises. "We don't know what their aim is yet. It's true you're a villain but they may not be targeting you. They may just be kidnapping random civilians."

Juvia does as she's told, inhaling then exhaling slowly.

"Also, this room," Gray points out. "I know it isn't much, but it's a decent size. Large enough to accommodate me, you and my dad, yet I don't see him here."

"That's true," Juvia says, admiring Gray's observation.

"There may be a reason for the separation, there may be not. But for now, let's use the fact that you're a super as an advantage, as ammunition." Gray says. He knows in Juvia's head, it's one against four supers. But in his mind, Gray knows it's two against four. They didn't outnumber Fulmination and his team but it was still better.

"Okay," Juvia brushes off the jitters. "Okay,"

"Stay calm,"

"Juvia doesn't know how much longer Medusa's powers will last on Juvia." Juvia confesses, she sounds troubled and at fault for being useless.

Gray once again yanks on their chains. There was no way Juvia would believe a normal person could break free just like that.

Juvia questions, "Does Gray-sama think we can wait a little longer?"

He scans the room one more time. He didn't know how long they've been here or how much time they can spare. But for now, Gray thinks they're running out of time. Who knows what they would do to Silver.

"No," Gray answers shortly.

"Then what should we do?"

Gray stays silent, calculating their options. He weights the pros and cons before deciding. It's now or never.

"Juvia," Gray calls, catching Juvia's attention. "I need to tell you something. Something _important_ ,"

Juvia stills, her back straightens and she sucks in a deep breath, "If Gray-sama is planning to confess, then Juvia suggest Gray-sama rethink that thought. Juvia feels bad for the situation she's put him and his family under but she doesn't feel _that_ bad about it."

"What – No! That's not it."

"Oh," She sighs in relief. "That's great! What is it then?"

"It's an escape plan," Gray tells her.

"Geez, Gray-sama could have said that earlier. The way Gray-sama structured his sentence really freaked Juvia out. For a moment, Juvia thought he really had feelings for –" Then Juvia pauses her sentence mid-way, she feels a chill crawling up her wrists. "What?"

But she doesn't get an immediate answer because Gray springs into action before the odds fall against them. He breaks their bonds and blasts ice at the bars of their cells before kicking it to pieces.

Gray says with urgency, "We need to go now and save my family."

Juvia whips back and looks at Gray then her free hands. Does a side effect of Medusa's powers include hallucination? "Wait – Gray-sama, what's ha –"

Gray finally admits. "I lied about that leg kink thing. I'm not just an ordinary guy. I'm not just Gray Fullbuster."

"This isn't making any sense!" She says, very much confused. "You can fight? You have – You have powers all this time?"

"You're not the only super here." Gray says. "It's me: Ice Lance."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking dead mother to another level. And if you ask me if such an event could happen - pregnant lady stomach exploding from impact of a snatch theft - then yes, it can. I remember reading such an article a few years ago. I don't remember if it was on news or in the newspaper. I just remembered being so shaken up and wondering who could be so inhuman to do this.
> 
> – 25 June 2017


	3. part three: the anti-hero

** behind the mask **

* * *

  **the in-between, the anti-hero: Iron Fist**

* * *

Gajeel Redfox lies on his sofa idly, it's a slow Sunday afternoon and it's the perfect time for a nap. The TV's playing white noise, his cat is purring on his chest and he's already got one foot in a dream. Gajeel's already dozing off when the sound of ringing wakes him up.

His eyes snap open and he groans loudly. Reaching over to grab his phone off the coffee table, he opens his mouth, ready to yell at whoever is disturbing his sanctuary but then notices the ringing isn't coming from the device in his hand.

Gajeel blinks – once then twice, wondering if this is a dream – before he sighs, moves his cat aside and gets off the couch. Lily doesn't appreciate it.

He walks into his room and opens his closet before reaching to the shelf above. There lies a backpack filled with emergency items that he may or may not need if trouble ever lands itself on his doorstep – some money, several fake IDs, clothes, toiletries, a pocket knife, a tracking device, an old _Nokia_ phone that was practically indestructible.

Gajeel can now confirm the ringing was coming from the spare phone. He almost regrets charging it weekly, the old ringtone was cringy.

Gajeel picks it up.

"What?!" He answers, not even caring if he sounded rude or not.

"Iron Fist!" A voice says.

Gajeel frowns, he doesn't recognize the person. "Don't just go callin' random numbers and accusing people."

"It's Hydro Hazard!" The voice on the other line tells him.

Gajeel almost drops the damn brick phone on his foot.

"H?!" He asks. They had exchanged numbers when they became partners in crime ages ago but he never thought it would be of use. Gajeel had just given Hydro Hazard it because he thought it would show her he trusted her, not because he predicted anything dangerous would ever happen. "Why do you sound so different and _normal_?"

There was no weird echo to her voice at all.

She says, "There's no time for details! I've been kidnapped with Ice Lance and we need your help!"

"The hero that wears tinted goggles and a winter jacket?" Gajeel questions then sceptically asks, "How do I even know this is the real H?"

Hydro Hazard sounds out of breath as if she's running. She replies, "Once when we were raiding a shopping mall, you stole a cat plushie when you thought I wasn't looking. It was Peaches from _Neko Atsume_."

That convinced him.

"Oh fuck, okay!" Gajeel curses then asks, "Are you wearin' those tracking device earrings I gave you?"

"Yes, hurry! It's two against four!"

"Rodger that! I'm coming to get you now!"

Gajeel leaps into action, grabbing the tracking device out of the backpack before putting on his armor. He's got everything set in motion before he races to his balcony. Thank God everyone here wasn't nosy!

He says to his cat, "I'll be back soon, Lily! Don't wait up!"

Gajeel gets a meow in return and then he's off with smoke trailing behind him.

* * *

When Gajeel Redfox signed up to be a super, it was because he wanted an easy life-style filled with riches. He didn't really need a mansion or fancy car or ladies in each arm. He just wanted financial stability and that was about it.

The only problem was, he didn't know if he wanted to be a hero or a villain. Gajeel admitted, both sides had their sunny days. Heroes get their face plastered everywhere, they become the symbol of peace and, are practically loved and respected by everyone. While villains get cool hide-outs, they fought for their own beliefs and no one elses, and their henchmen always had interesting pasts.

But both the hero and villain side also had its dark days. Heroes always have to come and save the day, they always fight for justice and had to be perfect. Villains were seen as nothing but cold hearted killers, crazies and selfish.

So Gajeel choose to be an anti-hero instead, that way he could do whatever the hell he wanted and no one would bother to come to him because there wasn't much expected of him. The way he acted could depend on his mood and nothing else.

Like, sure, old lady, I'll walk you across the street but that'll be 100 jewels. I gotta pay bills too, y'know?

So Gajeel named himself Iron Fist so he could rule his own world with … well, an _iron fist_. No objections, no betrayal, no nothing. Just him, his missiles, his cat and money.

Then Hydro Hazard and the squabbling heroes came into his life. Laid down the details that Gajeel never asked. He got the insides of their world and finally decided.

There was no way he was going to work for the government, _again_.

Gajeel concluded in joining the villain team. But only when he was with Hydro Hazard. Because when it was him and her, they had to work together to make the hard stuff easy. It was what it was: a villainize team.

But when Gajeel was alone, he remained in the middle because somewhere inside of him, he knew there was still someone that needed saving.

And right now, it was his partner, a villain, and her arch nemesis, a hero. What a day to be stuck in-between, ain't it?

* * *

They're running, with Gray ahead of her and Juvia just two steps behind.

"Is he coming?" Gray asks, feet thundering down the halls.

"Yes!" Juvia answers. Medusa's powers were losing its effect, her legs no longer felt stiff. "Iron Fist should be able to find us and help us!"

Juvia has just enough time to fuse the disposable phone into her liquid body when she sees two people run to each other. Gray stops in his tracks and out-stretches a hand so that Juvia stops too. The blue haired villain almost smacks into Gray's bare back.

"Natsu!"

"Luce!"

A blonde girl races up to a pink haired boy, her hand grabs onto his red hoodie before firing him with questions, "What's happening? Why are we here?"

"Fuck that shit!" Natsu says. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What about you? Are you hurt? Can you fight?" She asks him then notices Gray and Juvia. Or more specifically, the state Gray's in. "And why is that guy shirtless?"

"Beggars can't be choosers." Gray defends himself. He gestures to him and Juvia. "We were kidnapped when I was changing."

"You too?" Natsu asks.

Juvia nods then chimes in, "Could have been worse, Gray-sama was completely naked when Juvia went to answer the door and got ambushed."

The blonde's eyes wide and the pink haired boy simply makes a face.

She says, "Okay, I guess it could have been worse,"

Something clicks. Gray thinks he recognises that voice and guesses, "Zodiac?"

The girl 'Luce' gasps loudly at this. Her cover's blown!

Natsu immediately changed postures, raising his fists, ready for a fight. He says, "Okay, we know your names, Gray and Juvia. But are you a friend or foe?"

The pink hair and irrational accusations are a dead giveaway for Gray to uncover who he's talking to.

Gray turns to face Natsu. "You're an idiot if you think I'm going to fight you right now. You've changed your hero name to END but you're still the same knucklehead I know."

Natsu's insulted at first but then exclaims, "Wait – Ice Princess?! Oh my God, Lucy, it's Ice Princess!"

"Ice Lance," Gray's voice snaps at the correction. During Gray's many daydreams of how their identities would unfold, this is not how he expects it to go down.

Lucy then inspects Juvia. She shares a trait of blue hair that Lucy's familiar with but the blonde was one hundred percent sure Juvia wasn't Script. "Then who are you?"

Juvia doesn't even hesitate in answering, if everyone's revealing themselves, she may as well too. "Hydro Hazard."

"The villain?!" Lucy double takes realizing her slip up. Did she just reveal her identity to a bad guy?

"Fight me!" Natsu challenges.

"No," Gray steps in. "She's agreed to work with us for today. We can trust her, we've worked together once, remember? Acnologia?"

Natsu lowers his fist and Lucy drops her guard a little.

"The last thing we need now is to fight each other. We need to work together and figure a way to escape." Gray continues to make his valid points.

Both Natsu and Lucy stares at Juvia, scanning her up and down.

"We know who kidnaped us," Gray says, hoping it would snap the two heroes into focus. It does. "It's Fulmination and his trio."

"Master's grandson?" Natsu gasps, his jaw unhinging.

Gray nods. "But the problem is, we don't know why they did it or what their aim is for now. It just looks like they're kidnapping any super they can get their hands on, both heroes and villains."

Lucy scans the room, looking at the people before her then sides with logic give to her. "You're right,"

"It's four against four." Gray states. "Five if you count Iron Fist who's arriving a little later. But for now, this is the team we have. I'm sure we can take Fulmination on. If we hold on for just long enough, back-up might come and help us."

Juvia bobs her head, not saying anything to persuade the heroes.

"Let's put everything behind us for now. If I can work with my arch nemesis, then so can you." Gray pleads, "We can do this."

Natsu and Lucy exchange a look before agreeing.

"Okay," Lucy says.

Natsu punches the air. "I'm all fired up, let's go!"

…

Juvia finally managed to recover and gain access to all her powers after she and the heroes laid out a rough plan. She transforms into Hydro Hazard like some kind of magical girl, pulling out her costume out of her liquefied body.

"Wow!" Natsu exclaims in awe, all four of them crouched in a huddle. "That's awesome!"

"So you can hide things in your body?" Lucy asks.

Hydro Hazard nods, switching to her first-person speech. "I make sure I have easy access when switching between my normal and villain attire. I'm very cautious about these things. I was a little surprised when Gray-sama found out my identity."

Natsu looks to Gray, a little impressed. "How did you figure it out? Master's been looking for her for ages!"

Gray suddenly remembers the twelve panels lit up during the hero meeting they had months ago. Shit, he completely forgot that happened. But then again, with Juvia breathing down his neck for the last few days, it was impossible to inform anyone.

"I … had a hunch." Gray says, sounding weak.

Hydro Hazard simply gestures to her legs, letting a finger trace up to her thigh.

Natsu turns to Lucy and says, "I don't know about you, but I think that's code-word for doing the do."

"Oh my stars," Lucy lets the words slip out as she stares at Gray and Hydro Hazard with a shocked look.

Gray's face turns red then he turns to the blue haired girl and defends himself, "I'm telling you it wasn't the legs!"

Hydro Hazard lets her hand rest on her thigh. "If you say so."

"You have to admit, those are nice legs though." Lucy says. "Smoothest legs I've ever seen."

"Do girls really obsess over shaving their legs?" Natsu asks.

Lucy pulls a face. "Have you seen yours?"

"Good point,"

"Okay, enough leg talk. It's making me uncomfortable." Gray butts in. "We need to form a solid plan, remember? We just have a rough draft now."

"Wait," Lucy cuts in, looking at Hydro Hazard, still curious. "Didn't you mention Gray being naked when you answered the door? What do you mean? We're you at each other's houses?"

"I'm telling you they were doing the do." Natsu tries to add but is ignored.

Hydro Hazard speaks. "I've has been living at Gray-sama's place for some time now,"

Lucy clutches her heart dramatically. "So you guys are lovers that moved in together then found out you were each other's super rivals?"

Hydro Hazard opens her mouth to answer but Lucy's already turned to face Gray.

The blonde goes, "Are you still pursuing Juvia, Gray?!"

"It's not like that! My life isn't that complicated!" Gray throws his hands in the air. "I just let her hang out with me, she didn't know I was Ice Lance until today. I was doing undercover work. "

"You 'let' me?" Hydro Hazard raises an eyebrow at that lie.

"We're wasting time!" Gray replies, snapping the three from their banter. "We're here to escape, remember? My dad is still taken hostage somewhere here."

Lucy presses her lips together uncertainly while Hydro Hazard simply stays silent.

"Oh – right!" Natsu punches his hand into his open palm, flames bursting from it. "Let's kick ass!"

* * *

The fight was harder than expected. Both Gray and his friends, and Fulmination and his team, were evenly matched in terms of numbers. But in terms of strength, it was an entirely different story.

Fulmination and his trio were S-ranked while Gray was A-ranked, Natsu was B-ranked (it would have been A-ranked if not for his constant destructive nature) and Lucy had just recently rose in rank from C to B thanks to her still being new. Juvia on the other hand didn't even have a rank.

Medusa was hard to look at (literally), dodging Ruins's barriers were almost an impossible task, Soul Five had five souls in his corner while Fulmination was striking lightning at anyone who came within a close radius to him and his team.

Gray and Natsu couldn't break through Ruins's powers despite using everything they had to blast through his walls, Hydro Hazard couldn't use her powers around Fulmination while Lucy's powers were limited to what zodiac form she transformed into and Silver's trapped in a purple box.

"Let go of my dad!" Gray shouts, when all odds are against you, why not just yell out the obvious? Maybe it'll come true.

It was that time in the fight where all you can do is debate with your enemy.

Fulmination cocks his head to the side, an eyebrow raised. His villain suit is hideous; painted in a horrible dye that resembled the reincarnation of the sun. It was too flashy.

"He has nothing to do with this hero business. He's just retired and old!" Gray tells them, breathing out frost from his mouth. He was using too much of his powers on these bastards.

"I can still hear you, you know?! These barriers aren't sound-proof!" Silver states, looking offended behind the purple walls. "I'm retired but not old! I'm not even fifty yet!"

But Silver's words are ignored by laughing from Fulmination's team.

Fulmination speaks, "Don't you know who your father is?"

"Uh … My dad?" Gray guesses.

" _Man_ , this is why we left the hero organization." Soul Five says. "The secret identity law was bullshit."

Ruins answers Gray's question. "Your father, Silver Fullbuster, is the powerful ice hero: Sub-Zero."

"Sub-Zero?!"

"Did you think kidnaping you and that girl was a choice?" Medusa asks Gray, referring to him and Hydro Hazard. "Our target has been Sub-Zero since day one. We followed him into your home, it was just a coincidence that there were two other supers there too."

"The same applies to Zodiac." Ruins tells them. "Her powers are passed down from her mother. We were only going to kidnap her but then END just happened be there."

Natsu chimes. "But Gray has the same powers as his old man, it wouldn't make a difference anyways if you caught either of them."

"It does make a difference." Medusa scoffs behind her fan as she floats above them all. She acts as if everyone else was beneath her – literally and figuratively. She explains like it's simple math, "We only require powers from the older generation."

"The older generation?" Juvia echoes, not piecing things together.

"I mean, you're an okay hero." Fulmination says with a smirk to Gray. "Why would we use you when we have a more experienced ice hero? You're still a squirt compared to the stuff we've seen Sub-Zero do."

Wow, talk about wounding someone's ego and pride.

Soul Five and Ruins chuckle at their leader's words. Gray grits his teeth, he swears he can practically hear Medusa's evil 90's anime laugh.

"Besides, Sub-Zero took our offer when we told him we were holding his son hostage." Fulmination explains. "Such a hero thing to do."

Silver smiles sadly. "I couldn't let them use you, son."

Gray turns to his father, feeling at fault, "Dad, you knew I was Ice Lance?"

"My boy, both I and your Aunt Ur have ice powers. It's not shocking for you to inherit that trait too. Magnolia is the main capital but it isn't _that_ big. Honestly, son, it's not difficult to connect the dots." Silver says. "Why did you think I agreed to let you take a gap year instead of asking you to go straight to university? I knew you'd pursue your career as a hero!"

Man, Gray really doesn't know how to keep his identity a secret does he?

"Heroes will stay heroes." Soul Five chimes in but then turns to Hydro Hazard. "But you on the other hand, you're a villain, aren't you?"

Gray jumps in before anyone else can say anything, "She's with us, back off!"

"Yeah!" Natsu shakes an angry fist at them.

Lucy doesn't say anything but her face says everything. She's determined to keep Hydro Hazard an ally.

"What do you want?" Hydro Hazard asks, squinting at them.

Green mist starts to pour around Soul Five, making him look suspiciously like a _Disney_ villain about to sing out his plans.

"It's more of something you want." Ruins straightens his posture, standing tall and mighty.

A grin stretches on Fulmination's face. His thunderbolt scar looks more menacing. "I think we can offer you a desire no one else can give you."

"Not happening!" Gray snarls at them.

"Don't fall for their trick, Juvia!" Lucy calls, aiming her Sagittarius arrow at Soul Five.

Hydro Hazard squares her shoulders, guarded while Natsu and Lucy stand by Juvia's side, ready to defend the blue haired girl.

Medusa lifts her chin, "Join us and you'll get –"

"– THIS!" Soul Five exclaims, he extends his hand and even more green mist whirls out of it. It felt like voodoo magic. The smoke grows bigger and bigger until it resembled the shape of a woman carrying something in her arms. A smile dominates Soul Five's face. "My power is collecting and summoning souls. I think you should be able to recognize who you're talking to."

Gray sees Juvia's posture drop. Her costume melts away, reverting Juvia back to her normal clothing, her mouth is slightly open in a gasp and her doe eyes are wide with shock at the sight.

"Juvia …?"

Juvia asks, her voice wavers with mixed emotions, she reaches out. "… Mama?"

The green mist smiles and reveals the thing in her arms: a small bundle of joy – Juvia's unborn sibling.

Juvia's eyes tear up even more, eyes shiny and wet, as she cups her hands over her mouth to stop the squeak coming from her mouth.

"Juvia, no!" Gray's hand immediately shoot out and tighten around Juvia's shoulder.

He knows for a fact that there was no way Soul Five had that kind of trick up his sleeve. There was no such thing as ghosts. Gray remembers Tarot Reader already proved that fact through her crystal ball and reading cards.

"Let go," Juvia's face hardens.

"Don't."

Gray tries his best, he does everything in his power to hold Juvia back from making a mistake but then … she _snaps_. Shaking his grip off her, Juvia whirls around and shoves her hand on Gray's chest before blasting him away with her water powers.

"Son!" Silver shouts from his trapped position.

Natsu yells in alarm, "Gray!"

The dark haired ice hero only manages to saves himself just in time from the impact by creating a wall of ice to act as a cushion. Gray's back slams against his own creation, knocking the wind out of his lungs. That was _definitely_ going to bruise.

The only person not caught up at the drama unfolding is Lucy. The blonde acts fast, releasing her arrow, it flies through the air before grazing Soul Five's cheek. He flinches and Medusa's temper gets the best of her, she rushes in and scoops Lucy in the air before the blonde can do anymore damage.

"Luce!"

"Ever, no!" Fulmination yells. "We need to stick toge –"

But Fulmination's words get cancelled out when Natsu attacks the blonde villain with a blast of fire.

"You piece of shit!" Natsu roars, sending flames everywhere.

Fulmination dodges it while Medusa and Lucy tango in the air, grabbing each other's hair and just slapping the shit out of each other.

"Laxus!" Ruins shout, ready to protect his leader.

"No, Freed – Stay where you are!" Fulmination tells Ruins as he shoots lighting at Natsu. "Protect Bickslow!"

Ruins hesitates then sees the arrow wound, blood tricking down Soul Five's cheek. He nods his head then does as he's told, summoning a four-panel room that boxed him, Bickslow, Gray and Juvia.

Oh heck, hell was happening! Almost everyone was engaged in combat.

Silver yells from his position, "Son, move!"

Gray looks up from being thrown aside like a rag doll. They're back in the middle of a fight. He has no choice, he slams his hands on the ground and stops Juvia from advancing. He freezes Juvia's legs.

"Gray-sama can't stop Juvia!" Juvia scream in rage, feverishly hackling the ice around her. "He can't stop Juvia from being with her mother and sibling!"

Gray scrambles to his feet, he races to Juvia and tackles her down. It's like the day the hero organization was in shambles, they roll and roll and roll in harms way like it's a game. Gray's begging, Juvia's screaming and they're both on the floor with her clawing her way closer to the green mist while Gray is holding only her frozen legs, acting as an anchor, trying to slow down her process.

He yells, "Snap out of it, Juvia!"

"Let go of Juvia!" Juvia cries, tears streaming down her face. "Let her be with her family!"

"That's not them!" Gray says. "They've passed away! They're in the afterlife, they're on the other-side! No power can bring them back!"

"Juvia can't go back to being alone!"

"You're not alone!" Gray continues. "Please, Juvia!"

The position they're in is pathetic, just two people wrestling on the ground, drained from fighting and arguing. Lucy was _right_ , Juvia's legs are smooth. But this was not how Gray imagined himself coming to this realization– not as he's slipping and losing his grip on her.

It seems like the world is against him.

"Gray-sama wouldn't understand, he has a family!" Juvia continues dragging them both across the floor.

"Family isn't just flesh and bone!" Gray tells her, he manages to grab one of her arms. "The hero organization is my family too!"

"But Juvia doesn't have anyone like that!" She kicks him in the ribs, trying to get Gray to release her.

"Just, _stop_!"

Juvia rages, "LET GO!"

She tries to squirm out of his grasp but Gray continues reasoning with her.

"Juvia, you can join the hero organization too!"

A leg slips from Gray's hold. He gets a heel to the shoulder.

"You can be one of us!"

Her toes dig into his sides.

"We can be your family!"

The final blow is a kick to head. Gray feels her boot scrape against his forehead.

"Oh my God – Stop, kicking me – Ow!" Gray swats her legs away from kicking him. He cannot believe this is happening. Everything has been a let down so far; first how their identities get exposed and now this. _This_ is not how he imagined their rematch.

"Stop talking!" Juvia hisses, she bares her teeth but there are still tears in her eyes. "Juvia is so close! She's so close! Just go away –"

"That's enough!" Ruins cut in before the conversation can go on any longer. Lucy and Natsu are putting a fair fight against Medusa and Fulmination, Ruins refuses to be held back by this couple's quarrel.

"What are you waiting for?" Soul Five asks, moving closer to them as the purple barriers shield him from the chaos happening between their comrades.

The mist is now inches away from Juvia. A small green hand lifts up, mimicking Juvia's outstretched hand. If Juvia just gets a little bit closer, she'll feel her sibling touching her finger tip.

"Juvia, don't!" Gray argues.

Soul Five crouches down. Still inches away as if he's teasing Juvia. "Are you going to keep your mother and brother waiting or what?"

Juvia freezes.

Gray swears he can hear her heartbeat. She looks down and clutches her chest.

He calls her name, "Juvia?"

"… Liar," The word slips from Juvia's mouth.

"What?" Soul Five asks.

Juvia looks up from the ground then glares at Soul Five. "You made a mistake. Juvia was supposed to have a little sister. Not a brother, your powers are a lie!" She points to the ceiling then yells, "IRON FIST!"

And as if on cue, the ceiling breaks open, Iron Fist goes flying through the air.

"Surprise, motherfucker!" He exclaims, too gleeful for the moment, and launches his missiles.

Medusa looks away from her battle with Lucy just in time to see a missile flying her way. She drops Lucy mid-air then attempts to use her Medusa stare but it's no match against Iron Fist's iron mask. The missile hits her before she's able to fly away.

Natsu manages to do an impressive back-flip while avoiding lighting strikes and catches Lucy just in time. The other three villains scatter.

"Don't think you're better than us just because we're not wearing our suit!" Natsu yells as he sends an explosion of fire through his hand.

Now things were looking up, five against three.

Gray defrosts Juvia's legs and she turns back into her villain gear.

"Leave Soul Five to Iron Fist and I!" She says and Gray nods before racing to Natsu and Lucy who are battling Fulmination and Ruins.

A few found energy and anger surges through her. Iron Fist stays above in the air, surveying everything and thinking of a strategy as Hydro Hazard attacks. She uses her water powers but Soul Five slips out of her finger tips each time. Having five souls watching over him makes it hard to pin-point an opening.

Hydro Hazard launches a water bubble but it flies right by him.

"You missed!" Soul Five declares in triumph.

"No, I didn't!" She points behind him.

Soul Five turns just in time to see Iron Fist blow his babies up and for Hydro Hazard reaches into her liquid body and throw her disposable _Nokia_ phone at him. It hits Soul Five like a brick and knocks him out.

Iron Fist laughs gleefully before flying down in his suit and scooping his partner up.

Hydro Hazard smiles. "Thanks for the text warning,"

"Thanks for the water bubble signal!" He says in return and launches more missiles.

Two down, two more to go. It looks like Fulmination's team weren't working together like the heroes and the villain duo.

…

Surprisingly, Fulmination isn't the last to fall. It's Ruins. And he's furious that they've hurt his leader. Purple barriers enclose around all five of them as Silver kicks his prison cell.

There was murder in Ruins's eyes. "You're going to pay for that!"

"Frick," Iron Fist curses as all of them stand back to back, the colour purple paints everything in sight, climbing higher and higher until it swallows the room.

Hydro Hazard questions, "Got anymore bright ideas?"

"No," Gray admits, he looks at his father who's on the other side of the room. "Dad?!"

"I can't freeze the room without turning everyone into icicles!" Silver says.

"Luce?" Natsu voices.

Lucy chews on her lower lip. "We need a miracle."

And it appears in the form of a small girl. A familiar voice yells. "NULIFY!"

The ruins disappear as fast as it disappears. There stands Script in her super suit, the words she had just spoken shines like a lighthouse leading boats to safety during a storm.

"It's Script!" Lucy cheers, her face bright with hope.

"I knew I always liked her." Iron Fist says.

Hydro Hazard smiles at her partner's sudden favouritism while Natsu has a toothy grin on his face.

The number of obstacles goes down from four to one. It's four heroes, a villainies duo and a retired hero against a single person. That is, until Silver tells the young supers to let him handle it.

"All of you youngsters have been hogging all the fun, how about I test out some of my old moves?" Silver cracks his knuckles, ice spreads around his feet and Ruins sends a silent prayer. "No one mocks my son and hurts his friends."

…

Team Fulmination is defeated just like that. Master shows up and puts his own grandson and former super students behind bars. The old man now sees who his real family are after seeing the outcome and speaking with Silver.

Silver reconsiders becoming the hero Sub-Zero again. He and Master leave the clean up to the heroes. They're going to have a lovely discussion during tea.

The secret identity rule is lifted.

…

In the end, it is Script who saves the day. She managed to sense her friends in danger and contacted the hero organization as a back-up.

The small blue haired girl explains, "When you guys didn't show up to the café like we promised and didn't pick up your phones, I got worried. I thought it was fishy for you two to ditch me so I checked the news but saw there wasn't any villainise activities. I immediately knew something was up and used my powers to track you."

The corners of Lucy's lips life up, she hugs her friend. "Levy-chan, you're my hero!"

Script blushes at the compliment. "Oh gosh, Lu-chan, I think we're all heroes!"

Natsu jumps on the bandwagon and sandwiches Levy between him and Lucy. "I hope Master gives us a raise!"

"You ruined the moment!" Lucy accuses.

"Just yesterday you were moaning about your rent due!"

"Shut up!"

"I can't breathe, you guys!" Script says as she suffocates in the embrace.

Natsu and Lucy jumps away from Script and gives her space. They laugh it off as soon as they see how red Script's face is. It's as if nothing bad had ever happened.

…

"I'm sorry about your face," Hydro Hazard says to Gray as she reaches over and places a cool hand on his forehead. "That's going to scar."

Gray jerks back form the sudden action but then relaxes. Her water powers actually feel nice. "It's okay, I think scars are cool."

"Gray-sama is still so weird." Juvia tells him, remind his of the first time she called him weird, the fetish thing.

His face flushes red, he clears his throat and pretends he didn't hear what she said then apologized, "I'm sorry about your family."

She doesn't answer. There's not much to say about losing people you love. You can't say "It's okay" and you can't say "It's alright" because it's none of those. So Juvia just stays quiet.

"I meant what I said." Gray speaks up after a while. "You could join us,"

"What?" Hydro Hazard asks and drops her hand while Iron Fist frowns behind his armour.

"You two should join the hero organization." Gray repeats, his sentence more structured. "You've saved the world twice, why not do it again?"

"Because we're not like you." Hydro Hazard speaks. "Because we don't deserve to be adored by the public like you,"

"We're bad guys." Iron Fist adds.

Gray then states, "You know there's a difference between heroes and villains, right?"

Iron Fist scoffs. "Yeah, no shit."

"No, I mean beyond the good and evil stuff that sometimes get blurred along the way." Gray explains, knowing damn well that he can't always be good. Especially when it comes down to fist fights and destroying part of the city just to keep the remaining parts safe. "I mean, the difference is, usually, villains work alone. They depend on no one but themselves while heroes rely on their teammates and friends. You saw how Fulmination and his trio fell apart."

Hydro Hazard and Iron Fist stays quiet.

"They lost sight of what friends were. They weren't really a team." Gray continues. "You two don't do that. You two don't lose sight of it, you trust each other. And I think that's what separates you from all the others."

Iron Fist snorts. "Wow, I've always wanted to be called a special snowflake."

Gray frowns at this, "This is no time for puns."

"Puns?" Iron Fist echoes with a raised brown before he gets it. "Oh, no, I didn't intend to connect my sarcasm with your super powers."

Gray sighs then turns to Hydro Hazard and asks, "What about you?"

Hydro Hazard takes off her mask and tucks the skull under her arm. Iron Fist gawks at her action for a moment, he's never seen her real face until now.

She shakes her head. "It's hard to accept change. I'm not done yet. I'm a villain, through and through. Hydro Hazard will forever be Ice Lance's arch nemesis, right?"

He doesn't know how to answer that so he doesn't.

Juvia then adds for reassurance, "You need me as much as I need you for who you are. Don't heroes need villains to be complete? A yin to a yang?"

Gray drops his shoulders. "… I guess."

"But," Juvia raises a finger, breaking out of her villain persona. "Juvia likes separating her private life from her public life. So, if Gray-sama and the other heroes don't mind …"

"Yeah?" Gray asks, hopeful.

"Maybe we could spend time together, hang out or something." She says. "And maybe, Gray-sama can even give it another go and try to convince Juvia and Iron Fist to join the heroes if he likes."

Iron Fist shrugs at the suggestion. He is in-between, after all.

Gray gives the two a look. Maybe, having Iron Fist partnering up with Hydro Hazard wasn't a loss. Because right now – having Fulmination captured, the hero team strengthened and another ally in their corner – it looks like it's a win for the heroes.

Not every defeat stays a defeat.

Gray lets out a chuckle at this, he extends his hand. "You got yourself a deal, Hydro."

Juvia beams back at him and takes his hand. It's an agreement like the one she had at the rooftop with Iron Fist. "Juvia hopes Gray-sama doesn't hold back the next we meet each other in a fight."

"Not a chance." His eyes don't flicker away from hers. Iron Fist pretends to gag at their exchange. Gray's chest swells from the fact that he finally knows who's behind the mask. "It's a promise."

…

"Maybe you could drop by the flower shop?" Gray offers. "I could pick you up on my motorbike."

Juvia doesn't look hesitant this time like the first two. Instead she laughs and says, "Maybe Juvia could take Gray-sama's offer up. She could always use a ride."

They nod at each other. And as they part their ways, one as a hero and one as a villain, Gray thinks: _Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back._

…

"What do you think?" The villain asks as she smiles, wondering about the hero world.

"We'll see." The in-between says. He's okay with either. "Nothing is set in stone."

* * *

**end**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why the enemies are going in descending order but I'll just go with it cause it's fun.
> 
> The fighting scenes were hard to write but guess who finished watching both seasons of My Hero Academia? This guuurrrlll! Also, the ending is similar to episode two in Season two of Xiaolin Showdown where Jack Spicer tells the monks, "But maybe sometime if we're not fighting over Shen Gong Wu, we can all go for ice-cream. My treat," after working together to defeat Wuya. It was fun. Man, best childhood show ever ~
> 
> – 2 July 2017


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